5-yr jail for jilted lover, accomplice in acid throwing case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday awarded
five years imprisonment to a man and co-accused for
defacing a girl by throwing acid as she neglected his marriage
proposal.

The court also asked the man and the co-accused to pay Rs
1.6 lakh compensation to the girl for plastic surgery of her
face.

"Since the convicts have caused hurt to a girl of
marriageable age by pouring acid on her face and defaced her,
they are ordered to undergo rigorous jail term of five
years and also pay a fine of Rs one lakh each," Additional
Sessions Judge Suresh Chand Rajan of a fast track court said.

The court, which absolved convicts Raj Sharma and Pawan
Sharma of the grave charge of attempt to murder under the IPC,
held them guilty of hatching a conspiracy and causing hurt
to victim Laxmi Rao on the night of May 2, 2004, at Lajpat
Nagar here.

"80 per cent of the total fine be given to the victim to
enable her to get her face made by way of plastic surgery,"
the court said.

It rejected the plea of Raj, who used to work with the
victim in a firm, that they have been framed.

"Keeping in view of the facts and circumstances of the
case, the act done by the convicts, I am of the view, they
are not entitled to any mercy," it said.

Raj, angered by the victim`s rejection of his marriage
offer, had hatched a conspiracy with co-convict Pawan who
threw acid on her face.

The court took note of the fact that it was Raj Sharma
who took the victim to the hospital after the attack with an
aim to confuse the investigators.

The victim, who supported the prosecution case, however,
offered to compromise the case if the convicts were ready to
pay her enough compensation. The plea was rejected.

"It seems that the victim was not in love with the
accused (Raj) and she does not want to marry him and because
of this reason, he hatched a criminal conspiracy and got
poured the acid on her face by Pawan (co-accused)," the court
said in the judgement.